Saving Nezzy
by BlueRaith
Summary: The battle against Benezia on Noveria takes a surprising end turn when the matriarch is slammed unconscious by a biotic charge so powerful it could have made a krogan wince, right in front of FemShep and Liara. Turns out Aethyta cared enough to spy on and interfere in Benezia's downward spiral into indoctrination and has decided that enough is enough.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a prompt from the Mass Effect Kinkmeme I decided to fill. I was searching for Aethyta/Benezia fills when I came across it. The premise is something I've been thinking about for some time, but I wasn't sure how to make it work. Along comes this OP who gave me a way with this awesome prompt and I'm very appreciative. Updates here will happen on a regular, likely weekly basis, as my first priority will be the kinkmeme.**

Original request here:

The battle against Benezia on Noveria takes a surprising end turn when the matriarch is slammed unconscious by a biotic charge so powerful it could have made a krogan wince, right in front of FemShep and Liara. Turns out Aethyta cared enough to spy on, and interfere in Benezia's downward spiral into indoctrination and has decided that enough is enough. She takes Benezia into custody/locks her up/kidnaps her to her private mansion for rehabilitation/whatever-floats.

- A different spin on how Liara got to meet her other parent.

- Runs parallel with the story of ME1, but now leaving Liara a very befuddled young asari with two parents.

- Huge plus if Aethyta and Benezia have huge arguments over the whats and hows of child-rearing in front of Liara.

- Liara, for the first time in her life, gets to see someone rile her mother up.

-Up to the author how long you want to go with the story. I'm kinda happy with just ME1.

* * *

Her tits felt like they were going to freeze off. As a former spy for the asari government, Aethyta had been to many strange places over the course of her long life. Hell, forget spying. Oftentimes she would simply wake up in a Goddess forsaken place after a night of heavy drinking. She never liked the cold places, however and she was pissed that her former bondmate just had to pick one of the coldest habitated planets in the galaxy to go ass-fuck crazy.

Hell yeah, she knew about Nezzy and her turian boyfriend's drop into the deep end. Well, the turian had always been crazy, but this was too much, even for him. Nezzy may have left her over a century ago, and she may have agreed to the separation by not going after her, but that had never meant she had to stop watching over her girl, and soon after girls. Her ex-bondmate was brilliant, she had always known that, but there were times when Nezzy would get too excited, get too caught up in her damn cooperation mantras and sharing shit for the good of the galaxy.

Only, this didn't make any fucking sense. Her Benezia would have never attacked a human colony, dumbasses though they were, she would have tried to talk some sense into the brainless idiots. Not go along with a psychopathic turian Spectre to slaughter the hapless species. The geth was a whole other issue she planned to bring up with Nezzy. Oh, yes, she planned on confronting the other matriarch. She kept her tongue when it became obvious that Nezzy didn't want her to make contact with Liara, she kept her silence when Benezia spoke out against Aethyta's ideas to fight and build for themselves despite their past conversations over both their philosophies on her last day in the Forum. Those had been hard enough, but damn it all if she was going to sit silent and watch her former lover make a damn fool out of herself at the order of some damn Spectre.

So she had followed her here to this Athame forsaken icicle after the agent she had watching her ex-bondmate and child had reported the very worrying, and yeah, horrifying actions taken by her ex-lover in the past few months. It was fortunate that Nezzy had first invested in Binary Helix while they were still bonded. Otherwise, she likely would not have thought to check for Benezia here so quickly. Hopefully the stubborn asari would speak with her, but she was prepared for anything. The reports of the Spectre having fucking geth at his beck and call of all things made her nervous, not that she'd ever admit it. Who the hell knows how they would react to her showing up like this. She called her favors and had a group of Eclipse girls freezing their nipples off right alongside her in their Grizzly as they slowly made their way up Peak 15.

* * *

It was cold in the facility; entirely different than her experience on Therum, hot and arid as it had been. Though, Liara had to admit that she actually preferred the hot planet to this place. She wasn't particularly fond of the cold, and there was the added horror of the rachni and geth and fighting her mother and acolytes. No, she much preferred Therum.

She, Shepard and Tali had finally put down the last of her mother's forces and had her cornered. As cornered as a Matriarch could be at any rate. She had told Shepard once in their awkward conversations that her mother was a very accomplished biotic. She hoped the commander remembered. She fiercely hoped that this wasn't actually happening. As much as she truly enjoyed meeting the commander, she did not relish the thought of her mother as a traitor. None of Benezia's actions made any sense in these past few months. She had not spoken with her mother in several years, but she struggled to think of why or even how Benezia could change so much in such a short time for their species.

Her mother had always believed in cooperation and negotiation with other species. Liara could not think of any reason why Benezia would ever ally herself with the anti-human Saren. They had utterly different ideals and the ruthlessness of the attack on Eden Prime was beyond the Benezia that she knew. Something changed.

"This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear."

The Matriarch's words made her feel ill. Never had she heard her mother speak this way. Cold, unfeeling and against the teachings she had always abided by. She did not understand why Benezia seemed to have aligned herself with Saren so completely and she _desperately _wished to know.

"The rachni didn't cooperate with you. Why should I?"

The commander was perhaps the most confident person Liara had ever met. Never had she witnessed anyone stand up to the Matriarch as Shepard had. Her mother never inspired fear, though the way Shepard was currently smirking at Benezia in challenge was something completely foreign to Liara's knowledge of Benezia's interactions with others.

"I will not betray him. You will—You… You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions. Briefly. But the indoctrination is strong."

"Why are you able to break free of his control now?"

Liara firmly agreed with Shepard's implication. Despite wanting to believe her mother was in fact being controlled by Saren and not aligned with him, it seemed difficult to believe. Though, Shiala had told them that Benezia had been swept away by Saren's influence that she had actually wanted to help him off the path he was taking. It was just so difficult for her to believe that her mother had failed to sway him, that she instead had been corrupted and her powerful will trumped by Saren's. She had never known that to happen.

"I sealed away a part of my mind from the indoctrination. Saving it for a moment when I could help destroy him. It will not last long."

"So you could turn on me again?"

"Yes. But it would not be my will, Shepard.

"People are not themselves around Saren. You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead, I became a willing tool, eager to serve.

"He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago."

Finally, Liara saw her mother instead of whatever it was that she had been acting as. This Benezia was far more earnest and less cold than the Benezia that had attacked them. Attacked her. She watched as Shepard spoke with her about the Mu Relay and could see the regret and sorrow of her actions.

"I took the relay's location from the queen's mind. I was not gentle."

"You can still make it right. Give me the information."

"I was not myself, but—I should have been stronger. I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it. Please."

Liara found her voice. She had been satisfied with letting the commander handle the confrontation as she found she could not force herself to speak to her mother while she was acting so cold and brutal. Not after her first attempt had led to the Matriarch attacking them. Confrontations had never been her strong suit. Speaking to people in general had always ended up with her embarrassing herself as she did with Shepard when the human had come to the medbay to check on her. But now that Benezia seemed to break control of Saren, Liara was far more confident in speaking with the Benezia she remembered.

"Knowing the relay's coordinates is not enough. Do you know where he planned to go from there?"

Her mother looked even more regretful at her question.

"Saren wouldn't tell me his destination. But you must find out quickly. I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived. You have to stop—me. I can't—His teeth are at my ear. Fingers on my spine. You should—Uh, you should—"

Horror filled Liara as she watched the truth of Benezia's claims of indoctrination come true before her. It was easy to listen to her mother claim that she was not in control of her own actions, but watching it unfold in front of her, watching her previously gentle, wise mother struggle for control broke her heart. Her mother was disappearing before her eyes.

"Mother, I—Don't leave! Fight him!"

Benezia turned to face her. Sorrow and pain laced throughout her very being.

"You've always made me proud, Liara."

Liara's heart dropped at her words and the clear farewell within them.

The Matriarch then turned away from them and went rigid. As if the Benezia that had been so open with them had never been. When she faced them again, it was the cold, unfeeling and deadly Matriarch capable of killing her own child challenging them again.

"—Die!"

Reluctantly, Liara slowly brought up her pistol as her mother began to glow with biotic power. Tears threatened to fill her vision as she realized that whatever her mother had now turned into was perfectly willing to destroy her as well as Shepard and Tali to serve her master, Saren. If they wanted to get out alive, they were going to have to kill her mother.

Benezia raised her arm in preparation for a biotic attack, and while Shepard and Tali had begun to open fire into her Barrier, Liara stood frozen. Benezia was looking into her eyes; the attack was going to be meant for her. Time slowed as her mother started the physical movement for a Throw, one destined to be extremely powerful given her mother's extraordinary talent and mastery of her biotics. Shepard then noticed the Matriarch's attention as well and moved towards Liara's position. She wasn't going to make it to Liara in time, however, and the scientist prepared herself for the impact.

It never came.

The sound of a powerful biotic discharge surprised them all, including Benezia; especially when the source of the discharge barreled into the Matriarch at phenomenal speed. Benezia was slammed into the corner of the rachni queen's tank with a deafening crash and the form of another asari appeared in the wake of the biotic charge to the utter shock of those still conscious.

"Nezzy! What the _fuck _is wrong with you?!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for all the excitement for this, guys! It really gets me going on both sites. I too love the Aethyta/Benezia pairing, they're a really unusual couple and I like writing them. Depending on how much farther I get on the kmeme, I may update twice a week at times, so be on the look out for that.**

* * *

Aethyta was pissed. Even more so than when she and the Eclipse girls finally got up that damn mountain and fought their way through the fucking bugs. That was a pain in the ass if she ever experienced one. She was dealing with panicking kids and having to remember her dad's old war stories as they made their way to the rails. When they made it to the Binary Helix facility it was a damn slaughterhouse. Knowing that Nezzy was likely behind it all pissed her off more than the rachni. She was going to _demand_ answers when she saw her. Enough was enough; she was damn tired of hearing reports of ruthlessness and brutality from her network. Her Nezzy wasn't like that, and if she had to remind her of that fact, forcefully if need be, then damn straight she was going to.

The fact that Liara was there just threw her for a loop. The kid was supposed to be digging in the dirt for old Prothean shit, not suited up in combat armor in the company of some random ass human and quarian. What the hell was going on? She would have voiced the question, had she the opportunity. Unfortunately, she had arrived just in time to witness Nezzy light up and move to attack their kid. Fuck it all, if she was going to allow that to happen. Aethyta could remember just how powerful Benezia was. If their fool kid thought she could withstand a Throw from Nezzy, well. It was a damn good thing she knew how to simply _react_.

She hadn't meant for the Charge to be quite so potent; Nezzy was out for the count the second she hit the tank. Which held a fucking gigantic bug. Fuck. What the fuck was going on? Saren, geth, rachni, trying to kill the kid….

"Nezzy! What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!"

She moved to get closer to her former bondmate when she was slammed against the tank herself.

"Leave her alone!"

Shit. The kid didn't know her from a hole in the ground. The Eclipse girls didn't know the kid either.

"Hey! You girls hold your fire. Anyone that shoots the kid gets her ass kicked."

No, she didn't climb this Athame forsaken mountain just to lose the kid saving the ex-bondmate. Unfortunately, Liara wasn't on the same page, and neither were her companions. The human and quarian were eyeing her mercs suspiciously, and thank the Goddess the girls had the sense to stay where they were at the door; Liara had her pistol pointing right at her.

"Tali, watch them. Liara, back up a bit. Who are you?"

So the human was running the show. Aethyta had first thought that perhaps Liara had caught wind of her mother's activities herself, but it seemed that everything was a little more fucked up than she thought.

"Name's Aethyta and I'm the one saving your asses from Nezzy over there."

"Nezzy? Do you know my mother?"

"Yeah, kid. I know your mom. Shit, I thought I did at any rate. I came here to knock some sense into her, looks like I did it."

The human was really eyeing her. Like she hadn't ever seen a matriarch in combat leathers before.

"What are you looking at? Who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm Commander Shepard. The Council sent me to stop Saren. We were hoping Benezia would know where he was."

Damn. She should have known that. The Council had appointed the first human Spectre a few weeks ago. Hopefully this one wasn't as dumb as some of the humans she got in her bar.

"Shepard, I'm going to be straight with you. I don't give a damn about Saren. You can worry about him. I came here to find out what the hell Nezzy has been getting up to, and I'm going to leave with her. I need some answers from her."

"Leave with her? Who do you think you are? My mother needs medical attention, not a mercenary taking her Goddess knows where!"

The kid was supposed to be shy. Yet, here she was, lit up and pissed. She looked just like Nezzy.

Aethyta knew she was smart like Nezzy too. There was no way she was going to let some seemingly random matriarch cart off her mom without demanding some answers. Answers that now had to come out no matter what Nezzy wanted.

"Kid, this isn't how I would have wanted this to go. Not with your mom all fucked up and shit. Hell, this isn't how Nezzy would have wanted this to go either a few years ago. Now I'm not so sure. Anyway, when Nezzy left me, I was at least going to keep some tabs on both of you to make sure you were okay. You aren't, so I decided to do something about it."

She could see the kid thinking about what she just said. Could see the little wheels in her head going over what she meant. Aethyta felt sorry for the kid. She knew what it was like to realize that everything about her life was turned over. Nezzy going crazy, getting attacked by Nezzy, meeting her dad while said father attacked her mother in front of her. At least they weren't going to kill each other. No, that was the _last_ thing that was going to happen.

"Wait, are you saying…."

"That I'm your dad? Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying."

"I—You're…."

No, Aethyta definitely couldn't blame the kid for getting upset. She was actually wondering when this crap was going to be too much for her. Yet here she was weathering all the punches being thrown at her like a krogan.

"You're Liara's father?"

"That's what I just said, isn't it?"

"Sorry, look, you can't take Benezia. Liara's right, she needs medical attention and no offense, but I know mercenaries don't usually have the best medical care."

"Shit, Shepard, I'm not actually a mercenary. At least I haven't been for several centuries. The girls are just a few favors I called in. Besides, it's a knock on the head. I don't know if Nezzy have ever told you about some of her maiden days, Liara, but she's taken worse."

"Matriarch—"

"Aethyta."

"Aethyta, it's not the concussion I'm worried about. Benezia's been through what she called indoctrination. She's not under her own control; Saren has been making her do everything."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mother never set out to join Saren in attacking the humans. She wanted to lead him away from the path he was on. Instead she was indoctrinated by the ship Saren uses. It's not of any known design. He found it and once you follow him onto it, apparently it strips you of your will and forces you to obey his."

"Liara, I can see you wanting to find a way to not blame your mom, but that sounds like a load of crap. It's not like I want to believe she would do any of the shit Saren's been up to either, but you know Nezzy. She's the most stubborn asari I know."

The quarian finally jumped into the conversation.

"We all saw her, Matri—Aethyta. She was really regretful of everything Saren made her do after she broke control of whatever it was that held her. She even helped us and gave the commander the information Saren had her find."

"We can take her to the Normandy. My medical officer is good at her job and is familiar with asari biology. I also have a brig we can put her in for now for everyone's safety. That has to be more than what you have for her, mercenary or not."

It was, but Aethyta wasn't thrilled at the idea of trusting the human. She's a Spectre and whether she liked it or not, Benezia went and betrayed the Council. For all she knew, Shepard could release her over to the Council or asari government as soon as her back was turned. Aethyta had never planned to turn Nezzy in, after all.

"Shepard, I don't know you from a hole in the ground. Tell me exactly why I should let a Spectre take my bondmate into custody seeing as she's pretty much a damn enemy of the state."

The kid looked at her in surprise.

"You aren't here to take her to the Matriarchs?"

"Shit no. Those windbags would throw her to the humans in some bullshit cooperation effort to avoid reparations without even listening to her."

"Then what do you plan to do with Mother?"

Aethyta honestly hadn't thought much on the subject. All she really wanted was to get to Nezzy to begin with then go from there. Probably take her back to asari space and away from the damn Spectre to get rid of temptation.

"I got a lot of safe houses, kid. Comes with being a spy for the Matriarchy. Not even they know all of my little hideouts."

"No. I—you claim that you are my father, yet how do I know you aren't merely claiming that to get custody of Benezia? You really could be here at the order of the Matriarchs."

Yeah, Liara was smart. With Nezzy out, she had no way to prove what she was saying to the kid and without that, she could not see Shepard just handing over Nezzy. Damn. They really had one up on her without truly realizing it. Aethyta would never tell her mercs to fire on them for Nezzy. She sure as hell wasn't going to take a chance on hurting the kid. She had superior numbers, but Shepard had one of the two things in the galaxy on her side that she'd never fight. Well, one now actually.

But that didn't mean she had to let them in on that.

"We could stand around and wait for Nezzy to wake up. Though, if she really was under some mind control crap, that probably wouldn't be a good thing. I got the drop on her this time, but Nezzy could kick my ass if she really wanted to."

"Aethyta, the Council has no idea how long my missions run. I don't have to file a report for them until we figure everything out. That would give you a chance to talk with Benezia on the Normandy. And settle everything with Liara."

She was fooling herself. This was probably the best outcome she could expect from all this crap. Nezzy had really gotten herself in some deep shit. If she did take Nezzy away from here, what could they really expect to do? Sure, they were old and could probably slip under the Matriarchy's radar until they died, but where would that leave the kid? Once again, Aethyta found herself pissed off.

Letting Shepard take Nezzy still brought her back to the same thing she was worried about as far as the Council was concerned. Tevos may as well call herself the Matriarchy's bitch. She did whatever they told her to and Aethyta knew what they would tell Tevos. The humans would bitch that they needed to handle Nezzy on their end and her people would bend over backwards to make it happen. That's what they did. They were only concerned with keeping everyone happy. Pussies.

But you couldn't make everyone happy with every situation. No, sometimes secrets just had a way of coming out. Secrets that would piss people off even more than a matriarch helping a Spectre attack a human colony.

"Shepard, if I let you take Nezzy to your ship, I want to talk to Tevos first. We've got some things to straighten out."

"Like what?"

"I've lived for a long time, Shepard. I know some shit that the matriarchs would hate to get out. I'm not going to let them fuck Nezzy over. I don't care what she's done as far as that's concerned. I want some damn answers from her, but I'm going to make sure she gets out of this."

"But you believe Mother helped attacked Eden Prime and you haven't even seen the evidence for her indoctrination! You would anger the Matriarchy like that? Would it even work?"

"Kid, we didn't break up because we didn't care about each other. As for the other matriarchs, we don't like each other to begin with. I don't give a damn about their feelings. Shepard, let's get the hell off this mountain so I can fix this shit."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Aha! I knew I could get two in this week! Please note, that this isn't a change to the schedule permanently. I would like to keep y'all on a buffer for regular updates. Weekly is guaranteed, but bi-weekly is something I would like to reserve for when I get ahead of my schedule. :)**

* * *

Liara needed time to decompress. Everything… was different to say the least. She had first accompanied Shepard both in the hopes of finding out what Benezia was up to and for protection from Saren. She'd accomplished one of her goals at least and the outcome was far more strange, and yes, upsetting than she was expecting. So, as soon as she learned from Dr. Chakwas that physically Benezia was fine, albeit with a nasty bump on the head, she hid in the medbay's storeroom.

Her mother was under some sort of mind control. Indoctrination, she had named it. That was so extraordinarily difficult to believe, yet she had seen it for her own eyes. A part of her wished that she had not, despite the realization that Benezia was innocent. It was one of the most painful sights she would likely have. The ruthlessness on her mother's features where only warmth had been before. The fact that Benezia would have probably killed her had Matriarch Aethyta not intervened.

The asari claiming to be her other parent was perhaps the most surreal detail in all of this. Liara had never met any asari quite like her. Crass, brash, foul mouthed and violent. She could never see Benezia with someone as, to be quite honest, distasteful as Aethyta. Yet it was obvious just how determined Aethyta was to help her mother. She wanted to call the other Matriarch a liar and believe that she was only looking to take advantage of Liara in order gain custody of Benezia. That would have been easy to believe. Only she knew that wasn't the truth, despite letting Aethyta think Liara believed she was being dishonest. She just didn't know how to begin to make sense of the revelation that Aethyta gave her. Honestly, she felt a bit guilty over letting her… father believe that.

"Liara?"

Liara was surprised, yet not to hear that the commander had come to check on her again. She kept meeting types of people that she had never come across before since leaving Therum. It could be exhausting, but also exciting. Shepard truly escaped her understanding at times. Since joining the Normandy, the human Spectre had requested her to accompany her ground teams and she had the opportunity to see Shepard act in a variety of situations. The commander could be infinitely patient with civilians' problems; she could be kind and easy to talk to. It was something she was already familiar with in the medbay when Shepard would talk with her. Though without the flirting. At least she believed the human was flirting with her. She wasn't completely sure and she wasn't exactly good at that sort of interaction.

Shepard could also be hard and, yes, brutal with others. Typically she would take this attitude with mercenaries or rogue scientists. It seemed the human hated to see harm done to others and she reacted with swift and sometimes merciless justice. Shepard called it an eye for an eye in her language. To be honest, Liara found the commander's actions exhilarating. The human was so up front and frank with her words and actions that Liara found it hard to find fault with the Spectre the few times she had taken matters into her own hands. She made it clear she cared for others in every action she took. Even the less than savory ones.

"Shepard, have you come to check on me?"

"I was wondering… well, that was kind of a lot back there, wasn't it?"

"It was. I am relieved that Benezia was not under her own will, and yet I am not. I am not sure what will become of her."

Shepard seemed to look more than a little guilty at her words. Liara didn't blame her for what was happening. Not any of it. She knew what the Spectre was setting out to do after she had rescued Liara from Therum. While she was shocked to learn of Benezia's betrayal, it simply made sense that the Council would send someone to investigate. It was highly likely that her mother would end up facing the consequences of what she had done. That was not under doubt. Liara did not like her mother's situation, but that did not mean Shepard was to blame for any of it. Saren was.

"I had to put her in the brig, Liara. I know what we saw in the labs, but I can't take the risk that she won't lose control and hurt one of my crew."

"I understand, Shepard. Truly. At any rate, Benezia would not wish anyone harm if she was under her own will. I do not want my mother to regret anything more than she must."

"Aethyta's something else, isn't she?"

"Yes, I have not come across another asari like her before. Do you believe she will stay angry with you?"

Aethyta had _not_ been pleased when Shepard chose to release the rachni queen. She had argued vehemently otherwise, claiming that Shepard had no idea what she was doing; releasing many curses and insults against humanity's short sightedness. However the Matriarch had not been privy to what they had learned down in the Hot Labs. With the knowledge that the Binary Helix scientists had brought their situation to themselves, it made Shepard's decision far less black and white. Ultimately, the human chose to grant the queen a second chance. Perhaps Shepard empathized with the queen's desire for survival.

Shepard was smirking at her question. Liara had to admit that she liked that look on the human.

"Honestly, I kind of think Aethyta's not too unfamiliar with anger. I do hope she gets over it though. She really looked like she knew what she was going with that Charge. So, uh… do you think she's really your other parent? You didn't seem like you believed her back there."

"I am not sure what to think. I believe that she cares for my mother. That much is obvious. But she is so different than I would have expected. I have always wondered who Benezia had bonded with, but to see Aethyta…. I cannot reconcile her personality with my mother's. At least not right now. Can we talk of something else, Shepard? I have much to think about."

"Can we pick up where we left off? I believe you were telling me about your interest in the Protheans."

Embarrassment shot through her body at Shepard's question. When the human had last come to visit her, Liara had told her she wished to perform an "in depth study." It sounded much worse than what she meant. Liara was a Prothean researcher. She would be lying if she claimed she wasn't at least a little interested in how the beacon had affected Shepard. However, she did hope that the commander didn't think that was the only thing she was interested in. She liked Shepard and hoped that they could at least form a friendship.

"Actually, I think I was talking about my interest in you. And making a fool of myself in the process. As I said, I'm not very good at dealing with other people. Especially humans."

Liara had never spent much time outside of either asari space or her dig sites. She was only 106 and considering her relatively young age compared to others of her species, she had not previously been allowed to venture far from Benezia only a couple of decades ago. Then, after she had been permitted to leave, and after reaching adulthood, she was far more interested in visiting Prothean dig sites rather than learning more of other species. As humanity was so new to the galaxy, she had not had the opportunity to deal with them before meeting Shepard and her crew. They were rather intimidating, as she confided so the Shepard. They did everything so quickly and sometimes without thinking their actions through completely. That was such a massive deviation from what she was used to seeing in her own species. Like nearly all Matriarchs, Benezia planned her actions thoroughly. She did nothing without considerable thought and there were times she was known to wait years before making a decision.

Humanity on the other hand, took after their interests with zeal unlike any she had ever seen. It also soon became apparent that she was not the only one to notice either. The galaxy at large seemed to regard humanity as a bully. Going after what they wanted with little thought to others. Though perhaps they did not know how their actions came across to everyone else. Shepard seemed a bit surprised that they were thought of as such.

Of course, Shepard would be surprised. She was so unlike the other humans in her crew or the humans she had since come across in their travels that it was likely the commander didn't think like most of her species to begin with. That was why she had looked up everything she could on the human. Or at least a part of the reason if she was being true to herself. Shepard fascinated her every level. She wanted to know as much as she could about the commander. If only she could actually carry a conversation with Shepard without messing everything up. So Liara did the next best thing and looked the human up on the extranet.

What she had learned was frankly inspiring. She knew Shepard was a considerable force first hand, but she could not have imagined the human surviving a Thresher nest of all things. It was easy to see why she commanded the respect of her crew so effortlessly. It was likely that the commander did not realize it, but Liara could sense that the others figured that if their commander could get out of a situation warranting only death, she could survive anything. And perhaps they could as well by proxy.

"You didn't have to look up that information behind my back. I would have told you everything you wanted to know."

"I apologize, Shepard. After our last conversation, I was afraid I would say something stupid again. I wanted to know more about you. Know what made you into the woman that you are. There is something compelling about you, Shepard."

"Are you sure you're interested in me, or is it the beacon?"

"I admit, your connection to the Protheans had something to do with my initial interest. But it has grown beyond that. You intrigue me, Shepard. But I was not sure it was appropriate to act on my feelings. I thought there might already be a relationship between you and Lt. Alenko."

She couldn't really believe she had just said that. Did she really just admit her feelings to Shepard? It wasn't that she didn't want to admit her feelings. Rather, she was shocked she had managed the courage to speak her mind. The commander was the first person that had ever made her feel this way. Liara had always had trouble speaking with people. She was exceptionally gifted at finding some way to embarrass herself or her companion. However, Shepard was the first person that ever made her care that she may have ruined a relationship beyond the initial awkwardness of conversation. She cared what Shepard thought of her. She worried that the human may not come back after another interaction gone wrong.

Only that had never happened. Shepard kept returning to her storage room. She continued to ask her along with the ground team. She was requested to go with Shepard to the Citadel. All of this happened despite Liara's unintentional best efforts to be terribly awkward. Indeed, she was beginning to suspect that Shepard found her awkwardness endearing. Actually, now that she thought about it, Shepard seemed to be teasing her last shore leave.

However, it wasn't long before she began to hear rumors about Shepard and Lt. Alenko. The crew would talk about them during mess and seemed favorable towards the possibility of them being in a relationship, especially Gunnery Chief Williams. She would also occasionally see Shepard and the lieutenant speaking together. The humans seemed very familiar with each other. Liara would not normally consider herself an envious person, and she wasn't really, but the idea of the commander with someone else bothered her somewhat. She at least wanted to know where she stood with Shepard.

"The lieutenant and I are just friends. Nothing more."

"My mistake, then. I am not as adept at understanding human relationships as I thought. But what about us, Shepard? Is there a mutual attraction, or was I wrong about that too?"

"No, you were right. There is something between us."

"I knew it! And I knew you felt it too. But… does this not feel rather strange? Why do I feel so close to you? We have only known each other a short time. We are from two different species. We have almost nothing in common. This makes no sense!"

If she really thought about it, she and Shepard truly didn't make sense. Liara sometimes could not see why an Alliance marine would be interested in a Prothean scientist, yet here they were. Perhaps this was how her mother's relationship began. Honestly, it wasn't as if Benezia and Aethyta had any more in common than she and Shepard did besides their species. And that was taboo among their people.

Was she ready for this though? Liara had never had a romantic relationship with anyone before. She was completely inexperienced and Shepard in comparison was likely already familiar with romances. Everything was so confusing right now. She honestly cared for Shepard and wanted to see where they would go with each other. However, between her mother's condition, her alleged father and Saren threatening Council space, everything seemed like it was going too fast. Liara didn't like it, but perhaps it would be best to put things on hold for a little while. At least until Saren was taken care of.

"This is… overwhelming. I am not used to… this. You. I need some time."

Hopefully Shepard wouldn't be upset with her. That was the last thing she wished. Liara did not want the commander to think she was leading her on. After all, it was only a moment ago they were getting rather serious in their conversation. And it was, serious that is, which was why she needed time to think. To process everything that was happening around her.

Shepard for her part did not seem upset at all. Instead she was smiling at her patiently. No, Shepard was by no means a bully towards people that did not deserve it.

"Take all the time you need, Liara. I'll be here."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I wanted to take the time to thank you all for the follows, favorites and reviews again! I really appreciate them, and I love to hear from y'all in whatever way you choose. This one is a _little _shorter than the previous chapters, but the next one more than makes up for that, in my humble opinion. ;D**

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Damn did she hate talking to politicians. Aethyta had once thought she could tolerate it years ago for the good of her people and shit like that, but besides Nezzy, she just couldn't stand the absolute headache inducing circling they liked to do.

Shepard had kept her word, which was nice. The human could have easily done whatever she wanted as soon as she had Aethyta and her girls on her ship. The humans outnumbered her as soon as they stepped aboard. She was still pissed at the dumbass for the shit she pulled with the rachni queen, but Shepard at least had the decency to allow her to see to Nezzy's medical examination. Then the human led her to her comm room and had her pilot connect her to Tevos. She could see the councilor was surprised to her. It wasn't like she showed her face at the stuffy Forum meets anymore.

"Matriarch Aethyta, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Cut the crap, Tevos. I need you to connect us to the Matriarchy."

Tevos regarded her like she always has: with barely hidden distaste. Nezzy had always liked her for whatever reason, probably because she kept with her ideas. Aethyta, however, did not agree. Sure, she was personable enough, which is why she had her cushy job. The two just didn't agree on any front and Tevos didn't have a fantastic rack to make up for it.

"I'm sure you know that we all have our schedules to keep. This is a bit last moment, Matriarch. Perhaps you should bring up whatever it is that concerns you at our next Forum meet."

Of course, in all of the years Aethyta and Tevos had known one another, not once has she referred to Aethyta by her damn name like she's reminded her to do for centuries. She knew that Tevos did it on purpose. While Aethyta felt comfortable enough to curse and rant to anyone, Tevos got by with being infuriatingly polite. Nezzy had once told her the councilor did it to get back at her for all of the shit she's given Tevos in her career.

"Nope, gotta do it today. I know some things about Nezzy that they'd like to hear about."

"Matriarch Benezia? I had not known you were in contact with her."

"Dammit Tevos, it's not like we've been trading fucking emails. I've been using my old contacts to keep an eye on her. Tracked her here and helped Shepard bring her in."

In any other situation, she would have been smug at seeing Tevos nearly lose her shit at what she just said. It wasn't often that she could break the other asari's composure, but when she did, it was pretty funny. As it was, she was having a hard time finding anything funny.

"Shepard has the Matriarch in custody?! Why has she not written her report?"

"Because she's doing me a favor. Listen, Tevos, and keep up. I want to talk to the Matriarchy about what they plan to do with her. I know they'd like to fuck Nezzy over, but that's not going to happen. Not with the crap that I know."

"Matriarch Benezia has violated multiple Council laws. If Shepard has her in custody, we have to prosecute her for her crimes. We cannot allow her preferential treatment based upon her past."

"Nice to know you'd stick up for your friends, Tevos."

"Try to see this from the Matriarchy's point of view. Matriarch Benezia has attacked a human colony. They are under Council jurisdiction. If we do not try to bring Eden Prime's attackers to justice, the Alliance would be well within their rights to demand reparations."

"Last I checked Saren was the one that was actually seen on the colony. There were never reports that Nezzy was there."

"We have hard evidence that implicates Matriarch Benezia's involvement with Saren. Matriarch, you are too close to this matter. The Council dispatched a Spectre to investigate Saren and the Matriarchy supports that decision. Leave Commander Shepard to handle this."

"No. I don't give a damn how close I am to this. If you want to bring up that shit, then tell me why Shepard wasn't told to let the kid off on the Citadel. The other matriarchs are pissing their panties on Thessia. I know they want this taken care of by any means necessary, even if that means using the kid to get to her mother. Fuck that shit. I'm in for the long haul now; you've gone and pissed me off. Set up the meeting with the rest of those idiots. I've still got some damn good contacts. I can spread some real nice crap around that would make what Nezzy's done look damn pretty in comparison."

"What are you referring to?"

By now, Aethyta and Tevos were outright glaring at each other. Tevos and the other matriarchs had never any patience with her when she got pissed. It wasn't proper or polite and other crap like that. In the Forum, she'd have to deal with having to dance around different subjects. The others liked to keep things nice and civil. Only, when they were talking about their people's future, or potential conflicts, there wasn't much room to make sure they didn't make each other cry and shit. Not in her opinion anyway. Nezzy was always much better at navigating what everyone was saying and not saying. At any rate, she knew that Tevos would much rather just disconnect their vid call. She just didn't want to risk that Aethyta could potentially cause trouble based on her espionage past.

"I'm referring to some of the shit Nezzy may have accidentally let slip while we were bonded."

"That's not possible. Matriarch Benezia is renowned for her discipline and control."

"Are you telling me you never let something slip while you fucked somebody? Hell, what am I saying? Can't imagine you've gotten laid in this century. You're too uptight, Tevos. Anyway, did you know my kid's an expert in Prothean history? She's been known to get carried away with that stuff. Maybe I can talk her into a little break. A vacation to the Temple, see the nice statues and other shit. It's not my thing, but she could probably use a reminder of the good things about her mom right now."

She could see Tevos grow very still at her words. Good, finally the bitch was actually listening. She was probably wondering if Aethyta actually knew something about the beacon. Nezzy hadn't actually ever meant to let her in on that. It happened just as she'd implied to Tevos. One night of wild, uncivilized sex, and Nezzy's mental barriers were too weak to prevent her thoughts from getting to Aethyta. That was one hell of a surprise. She wasn't exactly a believer in Athame or any such deity. The Goddess provided a subject for some of her best phrases, but beyond that, she wasn't much for religion. She wasn't broken up about the truth of Athame. Rather she was more surprised that the Matriarchy could be so devious.

Nezzy had made her _promise_ to never speak of it. Aethyta was definitely capable of lying. She was capable of a shit load of things to get her job done, whether as a spy or a mercenary. But, hell, even she could see the shit storm that would unleash if the beacon ever got out to the other races. Or even just her own people. There were still a few fools that believed in the Goddess, despite the more popular siarist religion. Them and the dumbass conspiracy theorists. The crazies that swore up and down that the Matriarchy were keeping secrets to keep the rest of them under control, despite their direct democracy. Those weren't far off from the truth, but the idiots just didn't know how to go about their crap and ended up sounding fucking deranged. Riots, demands for a restructure of the government, a bitch fest from the other races. The way her people did things weren't perfect. She sure as hell knew that. Yet she also knew that sending everything into fucking chaos wasn't the best way to fix crap.

So she had kept her promise. Until now. Nezzy would probably end up pissed at her if she ever got her crazy ex-bondmate out of this. But, Nezzy should have realized long ago that she'd do fucking anything to keep her out of trouble.

"I am sure Dr. T'Soni would enjoy her time at the Temple. Of course, there are many other artifacts that would likely better hold her interests. Our people don't quite hold the Goddess in as high regard any longer."

Of course she should have known Tevos wouldn't have taken her at her word. Hell, here she was trying to act like Nezzy, and that was going to take fucking forever. They were dancing around her knowledge of the beacon playing politics and saying one thing, but meaning another. She hated that shit and she wanted to get this crap over with.

"She would if I told her that a Prothean beacon was hidden inside the statue of Athame. The kid can apparently get pretty twitchy over this stuff. Then I could make a nice sum of credits selling what I know to the Shadow Broker. I could use a nice vacation."

"You would unveil a secret our people have held for millennia?! What are you trying to get out of this, Matriarch Aethyta? The beacon has provided us much advancement over our history and it will do so in our future. You would endanger its existence for the sake of a traitor?"

"Damn straight. Tevos, I'm not in politics anymore. I don't care what will happen if I sell the information. I've retired to my bars and I'm trying to fucking relax. Only that's not working out with the kid and Nezzy getting into this mess. I take care of my own and they are a part of that. Don't fuck up and think I wouldn't do anything for them. Are you gonna take the chance to see if I'd actually choose between our people or one of my family? If that's so, then you're even stupider than I thought."

"Very well. I will give you a time for the meeting once I have set it up. However…. Do not think the Matriarchy, or even myself, will not take this threat seriously, Matriarch. We will not take this lightly."

Tevos terminated the connection before she could retort. She didn't care though. Aethyta had gotten what she wanted and that was all she cared about. She would make the rest of those old bitches see she was very serious. Nezzy would be horrified to see the extent she would go to save her, but that didn't matter to Aethyta. Nezzy had always been too damn selfless. Sometimes you had to think of yourself and fuck everyone else. If the Matriarchy forced her hand, they were going to regret it.


	5. Chapter 5

Shepard found her in the comm room almost as soon as Tevos had disconnected. Aethyta suspected the humans were keeping tabs on her. She couldn't exactly blame them, considering she'd do the same in their position. But shit, it wasn't going to be easy to get Nezzy off the human Spectre's ship if it came to that.

"Benezia has regained consciousness. Do you want to see her?"

She grunted in the affirmative and the human started to lead her to her ex-bondmate. Aethyta was not at all sure what she was going to say to Nezzy. Or rather yell as she was in a yelling mood right now. She knew the general shit she wanted to talk about. The damn turian, the geth, attacking the humans, trying to fucking kill the kid. Yeah, that was a big one. It was the most fucked up of Nezzy's recent actions. Never could she have imagined seeing the look on her ex-bondmate's face before she nearly attacked their kid.

In fact, it was nearly identical to the face Nezzy was making now as she looked at her ex-lover in her containment cell.

"Aethyta. You were always one for meddling in other's affairs."

The condescension was what really got to her. It was something she had heard rarely in their relationship. Usually during their most heated arguments and they were trying to really shit on the other's mood. Nezzy liked to use the tone when she figured Aethyta was really in the wrong. Oh yeah, she sure as hell was wrong here. Athame's ass was she wrong to have tried to stop Nezzy from killing Liara. How fucking stupid of her.

"For fucks sake, Nezzy! _'Meddling in other's affairs?'_ That's what you have to fucking say?! What the _hell_ was that back there? Shit, I knew things were bad when I started getting the reports on you. I knew you were sliding off the damn deep end. What I want to really fucking know is what the hell you were going at with Liara. The rest of that shit I can at least _try_ to get past."

"I realized I should have been stricter with Liara. She did not heed my call to come to my side. Instead she has allied herself with Saren's enemies. That cannot be tolerated."

Aethyta gaped at her. Not many people could get her quiet. Nezzy was one of the few, and here she was acting as different to the bondmate Aethyta could remember as possible. The other matriarch's words were delivered so coldly, and matter of fact, that had Aethyta not been face to face with Nezzy as she had said them, she would have claimed another asari was speaking them entirely. Nezzy's attitude toward Liara was completely fucked up compared to what she had seen or read from her reports of the two. By all accounts Nezzy fucking adored Liara. They had been going through a rough patch, but it wasn't anything too weird. She had gone through one herself with one of her own daughters a few centuries ago. Was it something worse then? Shit, she was going to have to talk to the kid after all. She had wanted to give her a little time to herself. No doubt the last thing the kid wanted was to be interrogated by a stranger. Damn, everything was wrong.

"This is a bit of what we were talking about, Aethyta. I don't think she means any of what she's saying. Benezia sounded completely different when she broke control of Saren. It was like two completely different people were in the same body."

"Dammit Shepard, what exactly am I supposed to do here? Yeah, the Nezzy that I know would never sound like this, but what you and the kid claim sounds too fucking crazy to be true. Where's your damn _proof?_"

"Can't you meld with her or something? Liara's been doing that with me to figure out what a Prothean beacon's been doing to my head. We could share information like that. Couldn't you do the same with Benezia?"

How familiar were Shepard and the kid, exactly? From what she knew, the kid didn't have many friends. Liked to keep to herself. Aethyta was not at all sure where she got that from. Nezzy liked to talk and make friends and alliances and shit. She personally was most comfortable in a bar, drinking and challenging anyone that would take her up on it to drinking games. Actually, talking was something she and Nezzy had in common. Though Nezzy liked to speak much more cleanly than her. Liara, on the other hand, had apparently stuck to her studies. Sure, she was proud of the kid for doing something far more than showing her tits off at some club or taking after her and joining a mercenary group in her maiden days, but that didn't leave much room for more interesting life experiences.

Yeah, a knowledge meld wasn't sex by any means, but Shepard was a human and not Nezzy. Meaning, that she was probably the first person Liara has ever shared with other than her mother and with another race at that. Shit, for all she knew, what she told Tevos might have been more truthful than she thought and the kid did get really twitchy when Protheans were involved. At any rate, she'd have to look into that later.

"You mean force a meld on her? Shepard, what exactly do you know about melding other than what the kid has done with you?"

"Well, I mean… uh, asari do it to reproduce."

"Yeah, we use it to fuck too. Did the kid give you the standard crap about 'two becoming one' and all that? Bottom line, we don't force that shit on anybody. Not unless you're really fucked in the head. By the way Nezzy's looking at me right now, we can say that she sure as hell isn't going to let me meld with her."

"I will not allow you to gain Saren's secrets. I will not betray him."

"I don't give a fuck about Saren. What I want to know is what's in it for you, Nezzy? What the fuck could he possibly have that would make you do all this shit?"

"He will be our savior. The Council has sent Shepard to stop him and that will doom us all. Saren cannot be stopped, he must not be stopped."

"What is she going on about?"

"I'm not certain, but I think it's the Reapers. Saren attacked Eden Prime to get to a Prothean beacon that was dug up there. We got there after him, and one of my team members accidently activated it. I was able to get between them, but the beacon ended up burning a vision in my brain. It showed synthetics, wiping people out. Slaughtering them. I think the Reapers wiped out the Protheans fifty thousand years ago and we have proof that Saren is trying to bring them back."

"Shepard, that sounds even crazier than the damn mind control. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were more fucking insane than Nezzy. Hell, maybe you are."

"I know it sounds crazy, and maybe I wouldn't believe it either, only Liara told me that she believes something wiped the Prothean out fifty thousand years ago. That there were others before them and others that came before that. She called it a cycle of extinction. She is the Prothean expert."

Her youngest was smart, but from what she knew about Liara's career was that not many people took her seriously. Combination of her age and that her ideas were off the wall compared to everyone else in her field. Aethyta knew what it was like to have "crazy" ideas though. The other matriarchs laughed the blue off her ass eventually once she had come up with one radical idea too many. Once Nezzy no longer supported her in the Forum, no one took her even a little seriously any longer. She knew from experience that just because people thought your ideas were shit, didn't mean you were fucking wrong.

"She would have proven valuable to Saren. Instead she has chosen to reject our guidance. Saren could have provided her an escape of what is to come. Now she will suffer her fate with the rest of the galaxy when the Reapers give judgment."

"Goddess, stop talking, Nezzy."

"I would have led our people to salvation following Saren's will. With my capture, there is no hope for the asari to escape their retribution. We are no longer proving our worth. They will end us."

"Shit, Nezzy, _stop_."

"You and Shepard will soon learn of the consequences for your transgressions. If you should stop Saren's work, there will be no hope for anyone. I am—He…."

"Goddess damn it. I am not talking to you if you're going to fucking rant. Is this crap what I get for ranting at you for a century? I don't have the patience for this shit, you know that."

"Please. Aethyta, Shepard, do not allow me to go on as I am. Saren is whispering in my ear, I cannot ignore him. He will force me to… to…. My control…. It will not last much longer."

"You want us to kill you?"

"My mind is not my own, Shepard. It never will be again."

"No one is gonna kill you. I'm going to make damn sure of that."

"_No._ Aethyta, you cannot fight this. Saren's indoctrination cannot be changed. I—My crimes have been too great under his command. Let justice take its course."

"Yeah? You seem like you're doing a damn good job fighting him now. If this indoctrination shit even exists. You're freaking me out, Nezzy. You can say what you actually mean with me, you know I hate that damn circling crap."

"His thoughts have perverted mine and all that I brought along with me. Saren has access to technology that forces your will to submit to his. I hid a part of myself from his influence and it grows smaller as time passes. If you do not act soon, the process will find what is left and destroy it."

"This doesn't make sense. Where were your mental barriers? A turian got the best of them? Fuck, in all the melds we had, I would have _never_ able to get past them if I tried. Especially if you knew what I was doing."

"It was subtle at first. The barest of whispers against them. I thought I was strong enough to resist, but that very arrogance was my undoing. I will not be strong enough to resist again. I do not have the energy left."

"Then let me help. You know I could. All you have to do is let me meld with you, like Shepard said. Or is this some way of giving up? I thought I knew you, Nezzy, but with all the shit that's happened, maybe I don't. Maybe you've turned into a damn coward this past century. Spineless like all the rest of those damn windbags you talk to all the time. I never would have pegged you for throwing in the towel when shit got tough. Is that what you really want to do? Let some fucking psychopath get the best of you without a fight? Without even trying? You want to give up on the kid? Fuck, you gave up on our bonding, maybe you can give up on her now too."

"I fought him with _everything_ that I am. What more would you have me do, Aethyta? I have spent months attempting to banish his control. _Months_ attempting to remember what matters to me. Every atrocity that I have committed under his order threatens to suffocate what is left of me. _I cannot go on._"

"_Bullshit_. Shepard, let down the containment field."

"That containment field is the only thing that's dampening her biotics. I'm not going to let her hurt my crew once she loses control again."

"Then get her guards to clear out and we can take care of anything that goes wrong. I'm going to try something and if she really wants to take the chance of hurting anybody else waiting me out, then I guess there isn't much more I can do for her."

"Aethyta, no! _Please_."

The two humans that had been standing watch over Nezzy didn't take long to clear the room. Shepard was apparently curious about what Aethyta had in mind. Hell, maybe Shepard actually wanted to help Nezzy out and if that was the case, then maybe the human wasn't so bad after all. Rachni stupidity disregarded.

Nezzy was regarding her in horror as the field flickered and died, taking away the protection it provided for her and Shepard. Shit, once this was all over, she was going to have to try to drink the look on her ex-bondmate's face from her memory, she hated it that much. Tears, fucking tears, were coming down her face and her eyes pleaded with Aethyta to not get close to her. To forget her and to leave her to the human Spectre. Leave her to the fucking Matriarchy that would hang her up to dry.

So she stepped close enough to Nezzy to form a meld and silently dared her to keep her out. What she had told Shepard was true. No asari would ever mentally force their way into the mind of another. Not unless they were really fucked up. Or an Ardat-Yakshi. She was really pushing that rule by playing a waiting game with Nezzy. They both knew that if what Nezzy and Shepard were saying about indoctrination was true, then they didn't have much time before Nezzy would lose control again and attack them. She highly doubted Nezzy, a damn pacifist in the worst of circumstances normally, would ever willingly allow harm to come to someone. Particularly if she still cared about that someone. She just didn't see any other option that would put all this shit to rest.

As she suspected, it did not take more than several seconds for Nezzy's eyes to turn the signature black of a meld. And fuck, what a meld it was.

_Something_ was in Nezzy's head with them. It sure as hell wasn't anything Aethyta had ever felt from anything living. And she'd melded with fucking hanar. Oppressive was the best word that would describe what was happening to Nezzy's mind and that didn't do it a damn worth of justice. She could sense her bondmate's mental barriers, far fewer than she remembered, and they were far weaker than they should have been. Whatever was with them kept slamming against them like a damn battering ram, threatening to collapse the barriers that held the force back from the small area that Nezzy had managed to carve out for herself in its wake.

_Goddess damn!_

_Leave, Aethyta. There's nothing left for you to save._

_Take what you need from me, Nezzy. I'm not going to leave until you do._

It was a phenomenal risk that she was taking. They both realized that. Now that it was obvious that what the kid, Shepard and Nezzy were talking about was real, Aethyta found it impossible to abandon her ex. That wasn't ever going to happen now. This was so much fucking worse than she could have possibly imagined. Even now, they could both hear the force _demand_ that Nezzy submit to it. To give up the last vestiges of her exhausted control and flay Aethyta alive with her mind.

So, she wasn't going to let Nezzy have much of a choice in the matter. Nezzy was too weak now to force her out of the meld and Aethyta took advantage and released as much biotic and plain mental energy that she could. Nezzy could either use it or let it sit until her mind completely collapsed and the indoctrination destroyed them both.

And it sure as hell wasn't a choice. Almost instantly, Nezzy took what she gave her and bolstered her barriers. It wasn't going to get rid of the fucking indoctrination by any means, but it would buy her ex-bondmate some time. Perhaps lengthen the time she could overthrow Saren's will.

As the pressure lessened, she began to help Nezzy rebuild a few of the barriers that were overcome with what was left of the strength Aethyta gave her. It wasn't much. Aethyta considered herself pretty powerful. She could hold her own pretty damn good in any fight she came across. Only this was so fucking different than anything she had ever experienced. Nezzy had a damn cancer in her mind. It was going to be a war of attrition. Anything that they did now would be gone shortly. If they couldn't find the power to continually push the damn indoctrination back _frequently_ then Nezzy would lose.

She wasn't going to fucking lose.

When it became apparent that Aethyta had no more energy to spare, she left Nezzy's mind. Shepard had her own biotics primed just in case Nezzy went psycho on them. That was cute. The human really had no idea that Nezzy could wipe the floor with her, but Aethyta wasn't going to tell her that. She was willing to take any risk to get her ex what she needed. Even if that meant fucking Shepard over.

"What happened?"

"Gave Nezzy a bit of extra juice. She'll be able to tell the turian to go fuck himself a little better."

"Aethyta, this will not be permanent. We were all able to fight him for a time, but none of our efforts ever lasted. He will gain control of me again. I can still hear him."

"I know. I also know that we can fight this until we find a better way. As long as that shit isn't in my head, I can take some energy drinks, sleep this off and try again tomorrow. I'm not letting you give up on this, so you're gonna be stuck with me for a while, Nezzy."

"The Matriarchy will never allow my crimes to go unpunished. I realize that you are trying to help me, but there is nothing you can do."

"You're wrong on that count. Been talking with Tevos. I got her to set up a little talk with the others. They'll listen to me, unless they want to deal with some heavy shit from the other races. Or even our own. You know we have a lot of secrets. Crap they'd never want to see get out."

"_Blackmail?!_ By the Goddess, _no._ I will not let you do such a thing on my behalf. Do you believe that I would actually want you to do this?"

"Shit, Nezzy, I'm not stupid. I just don't care what you want right now. I know that's cold, but nobody's said I've ever been nice. This is a real hole you dug and you're not the only one in it. You want to bet that Liara's not cut up about this? I'm not gonna just let her watch you get led to a damn execution block. Not while I can do something about it. And yeah, I can admit I'm being selfish too. I don't want to see that shit either."

"You are making a mistake. Every moment I am permitted to live is another chance that I may betray you. Please, do not allow your feelings to stand in the way of what is just."

"You know there's no chance in hell I'm just going to step aside. You might as well get used to not getting your way for a while, Nezzy. I told Tevos that I'm in it for the long haul now, and I wasn't lying. Get ready for some tough love, babe.

"Shepard, I want to talk to the kid."

"I can ask Liara if she wants to talk to you. No offense, Aethyta, but I'm not sure if she wants to talk to anyone yet. She wanted to be alone for a little bit.

"Matriarch, it was nice to see that Aethyta could help you a little. I'm going to send your… uh, guards back in. Tell them if you need anything and I'll see if I can get it for you."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Whoo, sorry about this being about a day late. I've been honestly vegging out a little since the end of Thanksgiving (which I wish y'all had a happy one :D), but now I'm all rested and can continue writing tomorrow fresh. As for this chapter, I was going to add more onto it, however it would have been _massive _compared to previous parts and I liked where this one ended even if it's a little shorter than some of my other entries. I also had a hell of a time managing my she's and her's. Damn this fic for having _four_ freaking relevant female characters in nearly all scenes. It was challenging, but I enjoyed it. Found a certain humor in it. _Anyway,_ now for the sixth entry in our tale...**

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She could tell that this was likely going to end up far more awkward than even her conversations with Shepard. The commander was fond of her jokes and teasing that Liara didn't often get, but she knew that Shepard was aware of how far the human could go with them. Aethyta was entirely different from the human in this regard. The Matriarch said anything she liked and did not care of what others thought. Perhaps she was the source of Liara's unfortunate trait of saying things she did not mean.

Liara honestly couldn't decide whether she was ready for this. Shepard had come to inform her that her… father wished to speak with her not long ago. She had said yes out of a desire to get her inevitable conversation with Aethyta over with as soon as possible. Liara doubted there would ever be a better time for it. Shepard was not entirely convinced of her sincerity, she could tell. It had taken a few assurances that were honestly closer to lies to convince the human. Liara found Shepard's doubt rather sweet.

Thus Aethyta was now with her in her storage room.

"So, kid, how'd you end up with a Spectre of all people? Last I heard you were digging up crap in the Artemis Tau Cluster."

"I was researching Prothean ruins. A krogan warlord and several geth interrupted my dig site, however. Shepard ended up saving my life and I have joined her crew to find out what Mother has been doing and to help Shepard with her Prothean vision. And how did you know of my location? It was not something that was heavily advertised."

"There aren't a lot of places you or your mom go that I don't know about, kid. It sounds a little creepy, but I don't do it for a stupid reason. Nezzy could really get caught up in her little plans and alliances and crap and I knew if you were anything like her then you'd both end up somewhere you didn't want to be eventually. Hell, I know how to find trouble myself, so you really don't have great odds at staying out of it either."

"You said in the facility that you were once a mercenary."

"Heh, that was a _long_ time ago. I'm actually a bartender now, more often than not. Still do a little spying for the Matriarchy occasionally, but things were as quiet as they can be around me until a few months ago. I had to call in a shit load of favors to figure out what Nezzy was up to. She managed to drop off my radar without me noticing. Still pissed about that."

Liara had wondered for as long as she could remember if her other parent had ever wanted anything to do with her. Her mother had spoken of nothing about her other than the fact that she was another asari. Besides that, the only other information she was aware of about her father was Benezia's pain when she used to bring up questions about Benezia's former bondmate. She had assumed that her father had been ashamed of her, that she had likely left them if Benezia was still wounded over their relationship a century later.

However, it was now apparent that her parents' broken relationship was more complicated than she had assumed. Aethyta had saved her life on Noveria, and the matriarch was doing everything she could to help her mother. By her account, she had been watching them since her relationship with Liara's mother had failed. However, if Aethyta cared so much, why had she not yet met Liara? Was she afraid of the stigma that was associated with Liara's status as a pureblood? Aethyta did not seem the type that would care what others thought.

"Why would you work for the Matriarchy if you do not care for them?"

"Pay is good and I can get in some good fights every now and then. No one ever really expects a Matriarch to be a spy. They think we like to all sit on our asses all day and talk politics. Nezzy really shined there, but I find that crap boring as hell. The other matriarchs don't much like my ideas anyway."

"What were your ideas?"

"Fighting for one. I don't know if you've noticed, kid, but we depend on a lot of the other races for our defense. Sure, our commandos can kick ass against anyone so long as they don't have a shit ton of numbers, but what happens if we end up in a war? How are we going to translate spying and sabotage to fighting on the front lines? We sure as hell don't have a proper navy. The Destiny Ascension can be the most powerful ship in the damn galaxy, but it won't mean shit if it's one of the few ships we got. We have to be able to stand on our own, hell I once suggested that we try to build our own mass relays. Nearly got the blue on my ass laughed off for that one."

"None of those ideas actually sound unreasonable. Though, it has been some time since our people have needed to fight in a proper war. Perhaps the Matriarchs see more gain from focusing on other areas besides the military so long as that holds true."

"That's exactly what they're thinking and I'm gonna tell you why it's a fool idea to have. You think the Matriarchy saw the Rachni Wars coming? The Krogan Rebellions? Shit, if it weren't for the turians, the krogan would have wiped us all out. The salarians and us make for crap front line soldiers and we weren't prepared. I don't care how good the turians are. Something can come around that they aren't ready for. Why depend on them so heavily when, if we trained and prepared properly, we could kick ass just as good, if not better? It could make a damn good difference if that time came."

"You are more insightful than you appear. I mean, that is to say I don't believe that you are unable to be insightful. I don't think you are…. Goddess, I always do this."

"You don't think I'm stupid is what you mean. Relax, Liara, I've heard it before and I'll hear it again. Nezzy didn't exactly see me as a shining example of smarts either when we first met. I know how I come across. I could say that it serves as a pretty good lesson that people come in different forms and crap like that, but that would mean I'm doing it on purpose. Truth is, I talk and act how I like because it's just not in my nature to be serene and shit. Besides, the way I am is a damn good cover on my assignments. It's just not profitable to act the part of a proper and dignified matriarch."

"I am sorry if I offended you."

Her father only laughed however. The Matriarch truly was far different than she could have expected. Liara felt guilty that she had assumed Aethyta to be rather unintelligent based on her mannerisms. It was just not how other Matriarchs, scholars or Liara's colleagues acted. She was more in line with the pirates and mercenaries she had come across on her digs or with Shepard and none of them were of any particular worth. Aethyta was obviously more than what her appearance would imply.

"Maybe you did. Maybe I hoped my kid wouldn't judge me so quickly. Nezzy should have hammered those manners into you early if I know her."

"Oh, she did! I am just not very good at this. I often say things I do not mean. It is why—No, you are joking aren't you?"

Her sense of humor was improving at noticing jokes and sarcasm with Shepard around and Aethyta's features were mirroring the human's when she teased her very closely. The smirk was there and she had heard that faint trace of amusement under the offended tone the other asari had adopted.

"It's too easy to rattle you. I'm not offended, kid. It'll take a lot more than that to get under my skin, so don't worry about it. Look, I'd really like to talk with you more, but I think we need to figure out where we're gonna go from here. I figured out you weren't wrong about that indoctrination shit."

"Did you speak with Mother?"

"Yeah, and it wasn't fun. I did manage to help her out a bit, pushed whatever the hell is in her head away from her mind, but it's not going to last if I don't do it often."

"Do you mean a meld? Perhaps I could help as well. Mother and I haven't melded since we stopped speaking, but I am sure I can do something too."

"Sorry, kid, but that's not going to happen."

"But—"

"_No_. Look, I know it sucks to see Nezzy like that and I'm going to do whatever I have to, but that shit that's in her head was nothing I've ever come across. It was really fucking everything up in her mind and it could take us both out if we're not careful in dealing with it. I've had a lot of practice with messing with people's heads, but you're what? Barely above a hundred? One wrong move and I could lose you both and that's not an option."

"I do not want to stand by and watch as my mother is taken away from me by Saren! I want to help her and you do not have a right to stop me from trying. You have not been Benezia's bondmate for some time."

What right did Aethyta have to dictate what Liara could do? Since she had shown up on Noveria, the Matriarch has demanded that she have responsibility over her mother, responsibility she would have had if she and Benezia were still bonded. Liara did not know how their relationship ended, but it had ended and she did not much relish how Aethyta had stormed into their lives and demanded that she make decisions for them.

"Maybe I don't. But Nezzy is in Shepard's custody. No one can see her unless she says so, as fucking annoying as that is. She was real reluctant to let me talk to you, protective I'd say, actually. Don't think she'd be too excited to let you see Nezzy at all if I told her you wanted to be a dumbass and throw your life away."

"Shepard wouldn't do that. She knows how I feel about my mother."

"She would if she's got a crush on you. I know how to play people, kid. You should have seen the way the human was looking at me before I came in here. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were Embracing Eternity and shit with each other. Anyway, don't think I won't use that to my advantage, 'cause I don't fight fair."

"Is this how you deal with the Matriarchs? I can't imagine they enjoy speaking with you if so."

"Believe it not I've never had to bust their heads over anything like this. But yeah, I'm going to force them to see things my way. Nezzy doesn't deserve what they would do to her if Shepard hands her over. Especially now that we know Saren fucked her up."

"I would still like to see Mother."

"Fine, but I'm going with you. It's about time we all had a talk together anyway."

Liara was still angry. She did not like the feeling of helplessness she had. She wanted to _do_ something, and someone she had never met in her entire life before now was forbidding her from action. She hated that Aethyta was likely right about Shepard as well. They had grown very close and she highly doubted the human would ever want to see her harmed. She knew that Shepard was aware that Liara could certainly take care of herself in a combat situation, but it was possible that Aethyta was either, admittedly, right about the danger a meld with Benezia posed, or that she would lie about that danger to keep Liara from taking action. What right did she have?


End file.
